Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Who knew something so minimal could be so cool?

This is going out to all the music nerds out there.

I was having a conversation with Eric from circulation (you may recognize him as one of those smiling faces you see at the checkout counter) when he showed me an area of music I had never experienced; minimalism. You know those paintings of big red and blue squares at the art museum that has everyone saying "I could do that"? Think about that for your ears and you have minimalist music. Basically, this movement takes one concept and changes it slightly, over and over again. It's kind of like when the blinker on the car begins to match to the beat of the radio. For a few moments, they fit each other. I love those moments. While I would argue that this music was the beginning of the techno movement, some would argue it reminds them of nature. Either way, it is way cool.

Even if you don't like the music, you should most def check out the video we have on our MySpace page of a musician playing a duet by Steve Reichs called "Piano Phase" all by himself. That's right. Two pianos at the same time by the same man. It doesn't get better then that. This video is the perfect one to launch our latest feature; video of the week. It's about time we gave you a festival for the eyes.

Glad we like more then pop rock and want more minimalism? Check out these composers:
Philip Glass
John Adams
John Tavener
Arvo Part
Henryk Gorecki
Steve Martland
Michael Nyman

No comments: